Toward a brighter Sun

It’s as hard to imagine Baltimore without The Sun as a day without daylight. The newspaper’s motto, after all, is “Light For All,” an elegant and egalitarian expression of the desire to keep Baltimoreans and Marylanders as informed as good citizenship requires. Arunah Abell, the top-hatted founder of The Sun in 1837, charged only a penny for daily enlightenment. By the time his relatives and successors sold The Sun to a large media company 150 years later, it was worth a small fortune. (Dan Rodricks)

Venetoulis: Saving Private Biden

To my friends in the media writing about Joe Biden’s allegation in an “impartial” search for the “truth,” please realize that, unwittingly, you are doing Trump’s dirty work. No matter how it’s rationalized there is no conceivable journalistic concept of “impartially seeking truth” that can encourage taking down a decent man to allow the re-election of the most evil, cruel and corrupt president in our nation’s history.

Buckler: Dentistry in Unprecedented Times

According to Merriam-Webster.com “common good” is defined as “the public good: the advantage of everyone.” Over the last many weeks, we’ve all been asked to perform a lot of “common good” for our friends, neighbors, communities, state, and country. As confirmed cases of and deaths from COVID-19 continue to mount, it’s a task that many of us accept willingly in the midst of one of the greatest health crises of our time.

The Do's and Don'ts of Face Coverings

Researchers have recently learned that it is likely that asymptomatic (never having symptoms) and pre-symptomatic (developing symptoms later) carriers can spread the coronavirus (COVID-19) to others. This is why the CDC is now encouraging community members to wear cloth face coverings in public and why Governor Hogan is now requiring Marylanders to do so. Cloth face coverings are not the same as medical-grade masks – which need to be reserved for healthcare professionals who are treating patients. (GBMC HealthCare)

Why We Haven't Found a Cure for COVID-19

Several months into the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many are asking why experts haven’t been able to find a treatment or cure for the virus. The simple answer: there’s too much we don’t know. Several months feels like a long time, but when it comes to medical research, it’s almost no time at all. COVID-19 is a novel (new) virus, which means that no one has natural immunity to it, and experts couldn’t research it prior to the outbreak in December of 2019. (GBMC HealthCare)

Help For Victims of Domestic Violence During COVID-19

On Friday, April 3, 2020, Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa R. Hyatt addressed how COVID-19 is affecting those in situations involving domestic violence and ways that these survivors can receive help during this time. “We recognize that being confined to your home may make abusive relationships worse or may impact your ability to report abuse inside of the home,” says Chief Hyatt.

There are several ways to contact the police if calling 911 is not an option, you can have a family member or friend call our non-emergency number at 410-887-2222, you can email , call the Special Victims Unit at 410-887-2223, or call GBMC’s Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) and Domestic Violence (DV) Program at 443-849-3323. (GBMC HealthCare)

How COVID-19 Affects the Body

While there is much we still don’t know, we are learning more about how the virus affects the body. Theodore Bailey, MD, JD, MA, Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases at GBMC, describes what we know so far about the symptoms of COVID-19. Most cases are mild and will cause fever, coughing, sore throat, body aches, and fatigue. There is no known medical treatment. Fortunately, most cases remain mild and for those, it is best for people to self-isolate and recover at home. Severe cases may experience shortness of breath with associated lung injury, liver inflammation, and irregular rhythms of the heart and require intense medical support in a hospital setting. (GBMC HealthCare)

Is Takeout Food Safe?

In this time, more than ever, our local businesses need the community’s support. It may feel like a conflicting message, we’re being told to stay home and to interact with local businesses, but both are incredibly important. Remember, local businesses rely on your purchases to pay their bills and their employees. Supporting them not only helps the business financially, it helps the employees who now find themselves without a paycheck. According to the CDC, there is no evidence that the coronavirus (COVID-19) is living in food. While the food itself poses no danger, there may be some risk as to how you get it. (GBMC HealthCare)